Sofia
by the frozen cherry
Summary: A collection of one-shots set before, between and after my two stories Lena and Natashen'ka. Mainly featuring Natasha, Clint and their daughter, Lena and Sofia. The rest of the Avengers cast also feature at some point!
1. Of Daddy, parks and red balloons

'What's that?' Lena asked curiously in Russian as she held on tightly to Clint's hand, pointing to a bronze statue of a small girl, surrounded by toadstools and various animals.

'That's Alice in Wonderland' Clint replied as he and the six year old red haired girl strolled around Central Park. Natasha was in a meeting with Fury, to discuss her next mission and even after two months of living in Stark tower, Lena was still wary of the rest of the Avengers (well any one in their right mind would be wary of Tony Stark) which had meant that Clint was the one only one who could look after the small Russian. He had taken Elena out of the tower, because, like her mother, he could see the warning signs and knew that she was going stir crazy being cooped up in Tony's glass monstrosity.

'Who is she?' she asked

'A character from a book' Clint replied

'A story book'

'Yes, like the ones your mother has been reading to you' he said, referring to all the bed time stories Natasha had been telling Lena, first in Russian and then in English, to help her daughter improve her understanding of the language

'What's it about?' Lena asked

'Well it's about a girl, who falls down a rabbit hole and has all sorts of adventures' Clint explained, struggling to remember the story. He had never read it, but the girl in the room next to him in the orphanage he lived in when he was younger, before he ran away to join the circus, had. It was her favourite story but it him it sounded quite boring and he preferred comics.

'Will you read it to me?' Lena asked, looking up at him, her blue eyes opening hopefully

'If you want me to Lenochka' Clint replied as they continued to walk around the reservoir in the middle of the park. 'Race you to that tree' he announced, knowing how much the young girl loved to run around in the open air, something she had not been able to do, stuck in the confines of the Black Widow compound.

'You're on' Lena stated, or at least that's what Clint made out from the gabbled Russian, which hastily came out of Lena's mouth as she ran out, across the park, towards the large oak tree in the distance.

Clint walked lazily after Elena, allowing Natasha's daughter time to win the race. The summer was coming to an end. The leaves in all the trees were turning from bright lush greens, to glowing, golden yellows, oranges and reds, just like the colour of Natasha's hair, the colour of Elena's hair.

Shit

Where was she?

As he reached the designated oak tree, he looked around for Elena, who he expected to be there with a big, triumphant smile on her face, waiting for him. However he could not see her.

He looked left and right.

He looked behind the tree.

'Lena' he called out worriedly, but there was no reply

Shit

Shit

Shit

Clint swore under his breath. He had been so stupid letting her run off like that, when she was still getting used to life in the USA and having freedom. Now she was lost in a strange park, surrounded by people who spoke a language she did not entirely understand. Well, that was one Clint's more positive thoughts. As his eyes scanned the area, more negative thoughts filled his mind. Instead of Lena just being lost in the enormous park, she could have been kidnapped. Clint knew that he and his partner had lots of enemies, who would gladly kidnap the Black Widows daughter, if they knew of her existence – perhaps they already did.

Either way, unless he found Elena, safe and unharmed, Natasha was going to kill him in the most imaginative, painful way possible, for losing her daughter.

'Elena' he called out again, running around more frantically, trying to catch a glimpse of red, hoping that she would just pop out from behind one of the nearby trees. Alas, there was still no sign of the six year old.

'Are you ok?' a woman asked coming up to Clint, who was now pacing up and down, debating whether or not to S.H.I.E.L.D, so they could send a team down, to scour to park for Elena, or the rest of the Avengers.

'I've lost my-' Clint hesitated, trying to find the right words to describe his relationship with Elena. She was his partner's daughter, but Natasha was more than just his partner to him. He had a better relationship with Elena than any other of her Avenger 'uncles' or Aunt Pepper. He had been the one to save her. He was the one who looked after her when Natasha was away. He was the one who made her laugh and he was the one whom she curled up next to, in his and Natasha's bed, after having a nightmare. He cared a lot about her, more than he would ever care to admit. Elena had brought him and Nat closer, they almost felt like a family. '-daughter' he said finally, realising what Elena was to him. She was his daughter, he loved her like a daughter, she was Natasha's daughter and he loved Natasha. It did not matter to him that he was not actually Elena's real father, he was as good as.

'What does she look like?' the lady asked, breaking Clint out of his small epiphany.

'Small, red curly hair, blue eyes, some freckles' Clint quickly listed, his eyes continuing to dart around the park.

'Like that?' the Lady remarked, pointing towards a small red haired girl who was standing next to a balloon vender nearby, staring up at his multicoloured balloons in wonder.

'Yes thank you' Clint replied, before running in the direction if the balloon seller, cursing himself that he, one of the best snipers in the business, had not been able to, in his panic, spot the six year old girl who was not too far away. 'Lena' he called out again, this time catching her attention. Elena snapped out of her daze and whirled around to see Clint running towards her. 'I told you to run to the tree' he told her, scooping her up in his arms 'I thought I had lost you'

'I'm sorry, Daddy' she replied, causing Clint to momentarily freeze 'I just got distracted by the balloons' Elena continued, not realising what word had slipped out of her mouth and she buried her head into Clint's shoulder 'and then I looked around and couldn't see you sostayed put like you and Mummy told me to, until you came for me.'

'You did the right thing Lena, just try not to get distracted next time' Clint said as he gently lowered Lena to the ground.

'Would the little lady like a balloon?' the balloon seller asked, walking towards them.

Clint noticed Lena's eyes light up at the prospect of having one of the colourful balloons, and he remembered what had happened at the welcome home party Stark had thrown when they had moved into the tower from the S.H.I.E.L.D helicarrier. Lena had spent most of the night fascinated by the balloons Pepper had decorated their specially designed apartment with. Natasha had explained to the rest of the bemused team, as Lena had chased the inflated round brightly coloured plastic objects, that Lena had never seen balloons before, which was why she was so curious about them.

'Yes' Clint answered and soon he and Lena were walking hand in hand back towards Stark tower, with the small Russian clutching a bright red balloon, both with big grins on their faces.

* * *

**Hello and welcome to the first of my _Sofia _one-shots. I hope you liked it and there are plently more to come but feel free to send me your suggestions - I would love to hear them!  
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**I was absolutely ashonished by the response I got for the first chapter of the main sequel to _Lena - Natashen'ka_ and hopefully the next chapter of that story will be up soon.  
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**Just a quick question - would you rather these one-shots were in chronological order, or would you mind reading them just as inspiration takes me?  
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**Many thanks  
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**Cherry :)  
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	2. This isn't food poisoning is it?

**Thank you to everyone for the amazing response I had for the one-shot, you guys are amazing and it spurred me on to finish this chapter, instead of just procrastinating for a bit longer!  
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**I have taken all your comments on board and I think the one-shots in this story are going to be fairly chronological but I'll let you know if there is one which is completely out of order.  
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**This one-shot is set about a month after the last one and I hope you enjoy it!**

**Please let me know what you make of it and feel free to send me more prompts to add to my growing list  
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**:)  
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* * *

There had been several times in her life, ever since their meeting in a toy shop in the centre of Budapest, that Natasha had wanted to kill Clint Barton and now, as she shakily stood up from emptying the contents of her stomach into the toilet, she actually considered acting upon her urges to murder her partner.

Her morning sickness had never been this bad with Elena, though, to be perfectly honest; she didn't remember much of her first pregnancy, since for most of it she had been on a mad, rage fuelled killing spree. She knew she was pregnant, her normally punctual period not appearing for three months and the five pregnancy tests all baring the positive plus sign had told her that what she thought was a stomach bug or food poisoning was actually her body telling her that she was going to have a baby.

When?

She didn't know. Although she had a sneaking suspicion she was probably around three months along due her and her partners passionate 'celebrations' the first night they had moved away from S.H.I.E.L.D headquarters and into the tower, she actually had not yet been to see a doctor to confirm this. Natasha wasn't going to admit it to anyone, but she was slightly wary of doctors (all due to the evil ones who had poked and prodded her as a child) and therefore was waiting for Clint to come home, so they could go together.

As Natasha walked out of the bathroom back into the main living area/kitchen of her and Clint's apartment at the top of Stark Tower, she quickly peaked around her daughter's bedroom door, to find Elena still sleeping peacefully, undisturbed by her mother's actions, before heading over to the calendar which was pinned up on the fridge. As she scanned the dates she realised that Clint had now been away for over four days, longer than was expected for what was meant to be a simple job. Natasha was not too worried about her partner, she knew Clint could look after himself; she just wanted him to come home soon so she could tell him the news, that he was going to be a father.

Natasha knew that he would be a great father. A blind mole could see how good he was with Lena, fitting into his role as her father with ease. How one day she had come back from a meeting with S.H.I.E.L.D to have Lena greet her in babbling Russian, describing how she and 'Daddy' had spent a great day together and Natasha had found this not at all strange. As she heard the other residents of the tower wake up, including her own six year old daughter, Natasha made herself a calming cup of coffee, whilst wondering what the day had in store.

* * *

'I'm back!' Clint called out as he staggered through the door into the apartment he shared with Natasha and Lena at the top of Stark tower. He threw down his bow and quiver, now empty of arrows used on the mission, on the nearby coffee table and shook off his heavy work boots, before padding further into the flat wondering where everyone was.

'Daddy!' Lena squealed upon seeing Clint and she got up from where she was drawing a picture and threw herself at him.

'Hey Lena' Clint replied, picking the small red haired girl and swinging her around in the air. 'Where's your mother?' he asked, once her put her down, looking around the apartment again because he knew that Natasha would not leave her daughter alone.

'She's in there' Lena replied pointing towards a closed door

'In the bathroom?' Clint asked

'Yes' Lena stated 'I think she's still got that tummy bug'

'Really?' Clint asked slightly alarmed knowing that Natasha should have got over the bout of food poisoning; she had been suffering from before he went on his mission, by now. 'Has she seen a doctor?'

'I don't think so' Lena replied 'I've been bringing her glasses of water and I got Miss Potts up here yesterday but I didn't know what else to do'

'You've done exactly the right things Lena' Clint stated reassuringly 'now I'm just going to check on your Mum' he added as he walked towards the bathroom door. 'Tash, it's me are you ok?' he asked before opening the door and being greeted by the sight of his partner, kneeling on the floor by the toilet.

'Oh, hey you're back' Natasha commented, standing up and washing her face before taking a drink from the water in the glass on the cabinet, acting like she just hadn't been emptying out the contents of her stomach.

'Are you ok Tash?' Clint asked as he helped her clean herself up.

'Yeah, how about you? How was the mission? You took longer than I expected-'

'Tasha this isn't food poisoning is it?' Clint stated, cutting across his partner's questions, they could be answered later, but right now he was more concerned about finding out what was wrong the red head.

'No it's not' she admitted

'Then what is it?' he asked anxiously as a series of worst case scenarios flitted through his mind

'Clint I'm...' Natasha hesitated, uncharacteristically lost for words, hastily trying to find the right way to tell her partner that she was pregnant and that he was going to be a father. Of all the ways an places she had imagined telling him, in the bathroom where she had just been throwing up was not one of them.

'You're what?'

'I'm...I'm...pregnant' she whispered finally staring down at the floor, waiting to hear Clint's reaction

'Pregnant' Clint repeated in a hushed voice as he tried to take in the news

'Yes' Natasha stated, now looking straight at the archer, trying to get a read on what was going through his head, but coming up blank.

'Pregnant' Clint repeated again, with an even more dazed look on his face.

'Yes Barton, I'm pregnant' Natasha said, slightly frustrated by her partner's lack of coherent response.

'But how?'

'Well Clint, when a man and a woman-'

'I know that Tash, I mean, how. I thought we were being careful.

'Three months ago, celebration, too many vodka shots, ring any bells' Natasha replied as realisation dawned on her partner's face.

'What are we going to do?' he asked as he realised he was going to be a father. The thought of fatherhood had never really crossed his mind before he met Lena. As an assassin, he had resigned himself long ago to a life of solitude, well, that was before he met Natasha. However, even then he had never contemplated having a family with her, the nature of their jobs meant that they were forever in danger but now everything had changed thanks to Lena.

Natasha reached out to hold her partner's hands 'we're going to do this together' she stated trying to sound confident, though in reality she was scared since her first experience of motherhood didn't hold many good memories.

'Are you sure about this?' Clint asked, pulling Natasha into an embrace. He now knew, after now becoming Lena's daddy that he wanted to be a father, but it was ultimately up to Natasha. She was the one who had to carry the child and she was the one who was going to have to put her career on the line.

'Yes' Natasha whispered in his ear

'We're having a baby!' Clint exclaimed, wrapping his arms tighter around her as he covered Natasha's face with kisses. 'Who else knows?' he asked, when they finally broke apart.

'No one, just you' Natasha replied 'though I think Pepper has her suspicions'

'Not even Lena?'

'I wanted to tell her with you and also when we've been to the doctor, to make sure everything is alright'

'Is there anything I can do for you?' Clint asked as they exited the bathroom

'You could person your first fatherly duty' Natasha stated as she headed towards the kitchen to make dinner for her, Clint and Lena.

'What is it?' Clint asked, wondering whether it was going to be some strange craving request because knowing Natasha, she was probably going to get extremely hormonal

'You get to tell Fury'


	3. One of life's first great adventures

'Are you sure this is a good idea?' Natasha asked her partner for what seemed the millionth time that morning.

'I know it seems scary, but the shrink at S.H.I.E.L.D said it would be good for her. She can act like a normal kid and make some friends'

'But she's not normal!' Natasha exclaimed 'she's been in situations someone her age should have never been in. The only children she has been around were ones who were being trained to kill each other and now we are sending her into a classroom! She still might be a bit iffy about the alphabet but she can tell you at least five different ways to kill with a wire coat hanger!'

'Nat, you need to stop worrying' Clint said calmly, walking up behind his stressed partner and wrapping his arms around her, his hands resting on her bump 'it's not good for you'.

'I know' she sighed, leaning back on him 'I just can't help it. I mean what happens if she gets picked on or laughed at for being the new girl and having a strange accent' she stated, referring to the fact that although Elena's English had come on in leaps and bounds in the last couple of months, but she still had a Russian accent which her mother was working on to help her get rid of it. 'What if something happens to her and we're not there to look after her! And now you're going away on another stupid mission and I can't look after her like this' she said hysterically, gesturing to her pregnant figure.

'Nat, both you and I know that and 7 month sized baby bump isn't going to stop you from protecting your daughter' Clint replied, trying to clam Natasha down.

'Damn these hormones' she replied, mentally scolding herself as she pulled herself together.

'You never went to school did you?' Clint remarked as he partner moved, rather more slowly than usual, around the room, getting dressed for the day.

'What do you think' Natasha remarked, as she pulled on some maternity jeans and a warm jumper, Pepper had forced her to buy when she finally admitted that her old clothes no longer fit. 'Do you think she will enjoy it?'

'Tash, the kid has been going on about it for weeks, I had to bribe her last night to change out of her new uniform so she didn't sleep in it'

Natasha's worries were cut off by the sight of her excited daughter bounding through the bedroom door, dressed in her beloved new school uniform. '_Mumiya _can you do my hair?' Lena asked waving her hair brush, Agent Hill had given her as a surprise birthday present, in her mother's face.

'I'll make some breakfast' Clint stated, leaving Natasha to deal with the very excited seven year old.

* * *

'Now you be a good girl for Mummy' Clint said as he bent down so he was at eye level with Lena, who nodded before wrapping her arms around the neck of the man she now considered to be her father.

'Come back home safely Daddy' Lena stated, burying her face into his shoulder.

'I will do Lenochka, I promise' Clint replied, pressing a kiss to the top if Lena's red curls, which had been subdued into two neat plaits by her mother. 'You look after your mother and the baby and have a great time at school'

'Will do' she whispered before releasing him, so Clint to say goodbye to Natasha.

Clint's red haired partner and the mother of his child, wrapped her arms around him, pulling him as close to her as possible with her protruding stomach. 'I'll hold you to your promise' she stated, before kissing him hungrily, knowing that his was the last time she was going to see him for at least a week.

As Natasha relished her partner's embrace she mentally cursed Fury. This was his way of punishing them. Relationships between agents were frowned upon, agents living together raising a family was practically unheard of and to say that Fury was annoyed that his best agent was now off on maternity leave was an understatement. Fury was absolutely livid. When Clint had plucked up the courage and told the fearsome, eye patch wearing Director that Natasha would not be able to go out in the field anymore and would therefore have to be put on desk duty, Fury had just stared stonily at the archer before nodding and throwing a mission file at Clint. He had not spoken to the pair, who had been dubbed 'Blackhawk' by a drunken Tony Stark one night, since that day, with Agent Hill now telling them their orders. Both assassins were adjusting to this change, with the hope that their boss would look them in the eye one day.

'Love you Tash' Clint whispered into her ear 'keep yourself and _malyutka _safe'

Natasha just nodded her head, blinking away the tears which were threatening to fall. She knew that since she was pregnant her hormones were all over the place but still she was the Black Widow, she had a reputation to maintain and she was not going to cry.

'Mr Baton, the car has arrived' came JARVIS's clear cut voice which caused the partners to finish their and with one last glance back, Clint exited the apartment, leaving his girls to finish their breakfast before school started.

* * *

'Lena, don't run off too far' Natasha called out as she walked along the pavement 15 minutes later.

'Sorry _Mumiya' _ Lena replied, her two plaits swinging as she ran back towards her mother, realising that she was walking longer to walk.

As they turned the corner, nearing the school and saw other children wearing the same green uniform Lena was sporting, Natasha felt her daughter's small hand sneak into hers.

'_Mumiya _I don't want to go' Lena whispered in her native language as she watched the other children enter the school

'Lena, you've been looking forward to going for weeks' Natasha said gently, stopping on the pavement to bend down so she was at eye level with her daughter.

'But...but...what if...what if they don't like me?' she whispered

'Lenochka they will like you I promise' Natasha replied, wrapping her arms around her daughter tightly, she wanted everything just to tell her that it was ok and she didn't have to go to school but she knew that Clint wouldn't like that and it was in her daughter's best interests to go

'Promise?'

'Yes, now just go in with a big smile on your face and be brave' Natasha told Lena as she stood up and gave her daughter a little push in the direction of the school. The school had been vetted by both S.H.I.E.L.D and Tony before it was finally deemed safe enough for Lena to attend it. The school was quite small, with a low teacher to pupil ratio and when Natasha and Clint had checked it out they seemed very welcoming and friendly and added bonus was that it was just around the corner from Stark Tower, so the Avengers could get there quickly in an emergency.

'Lena!' Natasha called out as he daughter was about to go through the school gates 'if anything happens you have my number' she told Lena and after giving her mother one last hug, the small red head mustered all her courage and ran to greet her new classmates.

Natasha stayed at the school gates; way after all the other parents had gone, until her daughter was shepherded inside by a kind looking teacher. She knew that Lena was going to be alright it, it was just that her heart felt like it was being torn, seeing her walk off by herself and knowing that his was an adventure that her daughter was going to have to face by herself.

Natasha spent the rest of the day in the tower, catching up on paperwork and checking Clint's mission details on the feed Stark had set up between his computers and the S.H.I.E.L.D database (unbeknownst to Fury). Every once in a while she would glance at her phone not knowing whether to be sad or relieved that she had not heard from her daughter and it was with great trepidation that she approached the school at the end of the school day, not knowing what to expect.

'_Mumiya!' _ Lena shouted as she ran out of the school as the bell ran, across the playground towards her mother

'How was your day?' Natasha asked with bated breath, wondering what tales were going to come out of her daughter's mouth. Whether she was going to cry because it was horrible and she didn't call because she didn't want to disappoint her mother or whether she had a great time and couldn't wait to go back the next day.

'It was really good' Lena replied with a smile on her face

'Did you make any friends?'

Lena nodded 'they thought it was really cool that I could speak another language'

'What did you do?'

And with that Lena launched into a long lengthy description of her day as they walked back towards the tower hand in hand, Natasha in no doubt that she was finally doing right by her daughter.

* * *

**I am so so sorry for the delay in getting this chapter out, I've had to get my life sorted out and this and my other stories just got pushed to the side. I'm ok now, just still very busy.  
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**I want to thank everyone who reviewed the last chapter, I am so glad you liked it and I hope you liked this one. I think Sofia might be making an appearence in the next one!  
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**I'm halfway through writing the next chapter of Natashaen'ka so just bear with me and it should be up soon!  
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**As always, please review!  
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**Many thanks  
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**:)  
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	4. Introducing Sofia

_A/N: I hope you enjoy this one, please review :)_

* * *

'You are never coming near me ever again Clint Barton!' Natasha exclaimed as another contraction occurred. 'Just get this baby out of me!' she screamed at the midwife, the fourth who had been send to attend to the birth after the fearsome Black Widow had scared the rest away.

'I'm afraid you're not fully dilated yet Agent Romanoff' the Midwife announced quietly, tying not to incur the Natasha's wrath.

'Just breath through it Tash' Clint said as Natasha squeezed his hand tightly, so tightly that he actually feared that she would cut off his blood supply, but he was not going to mention that to the highly trained assassin who was having his child.

'You're not the one having this child' Natasha replied through gritted teeth 'so shut up'

Clint nodded, whilst wincing in pain as another wave of contractions hit and Natasha clenched his hand tightly.

'I thought this time was meant to be easier' she commented, taking deep breath. For the birth of her second child she was in a top S.H.I.E.L.D medical facility under the care of the best health care professionals there were and with pain medication, in stark contrast to when it was just her and Tatiana in a stuffy room in the July heat in the heart Moscow.

'You're almost there now Agent Romanoff' the midwife stated 'you can start to push'. Natasha nodded as Clint gave her hand a reassuring squeeze and the red haired gritted her teeth in a determined manner, as she prepared for the final part of the long ordeal.

* * *

'Pepper we're never having children' Tony commented as through the thin hospital walls he and the rest of the Avengers (minus Thor) who were waiting outside heard Natasha scream. Ever since Natasha's water broke just under 20 hours ago, the whole team, plus Pepper and Elena, had been sat outside waiting for the latest addition to the team to be born.

'Is _Mumiya _going to be alright?' Lena asked quietly being roused from her nap by her mother's screams. Both Natasha and Clint had wanted Lena to stay back at Stark tower with Steve, who had volunteered to stay behind, but the head strong seven year old had dragged her heels and had tagged along with the rest of the team. She had, up until the screams had awoken her, been curled up on one of the chairs asleep, her head resting against Bruce's leg.

'She's going to be fine Lena' the doctor replied calmly 'it just means that your new sibling is coming'

Lena just wordlessly nodded before curling up again. Her relationship with the Avengers had grown over the months she had spent living with them at the top of Stark tower. At the beginning she was very shy around them, rarely uttering a single word in their presence but gradually she had come out of her shell. She was a frequent visitor to Stark and Banner's lab, sitting on the work bench next to them as they developed new weapons for the Avengers, the first person to sample Pepper's special homemade chocolate chip cookies, she loved being swung through the air by Thor when he visited from Asgard and she would sit next to Steve for hours on end as he told her about his life in the 1930s and the adventures he got up to during WW2.

The sounds of Natasha screaming suddenly stopped and a high pitched wail punctuated the air.

'Is that...?' Steve asked

'I think it might be' Bruce answered

'The hawkling has been born!' Tony stated excitedly as he stood up and started bouncing around in anticipation, Pepper holding her head in her hands at her boyfriend's immature behaviour

Then, after what seemed like ages, the tired but elated face of Clint Barton appeared from around the hospital room door. 'Lena do you want to meet your new sister?' he asked, ignoring his teammates' eager faces and looking directly at the young red haired girl.

Lena nodded and quickly slid off the hospital chair and followed the new father into the white hospital room, hesitating slightly in the doorway as she watched the midwife hand a blanket wrapped bundle to her mother, who looked down at it adoringly.

'Come here Lena and meet your little sister' Natasha told her daughter, gesturing for her to join her on the bed as she shuffled up to make more room.

Lena walked slowly into the room before climbing carefully into the hospital bed, trying her best not to joggle the baby. 'Hello I'm your big sister' she whispered as she pressed a kiss to the top of the baby's head. 'What's the baby's name?' she asked her mother, whom she noted had dark rings under her eyes but her face bore the biggest smile she had ever seen.

'Sofia Robyn' Natasha answered, holding her new baby against her with one hand and wrapping the other around her other daughter.

Lena snuggled into her mother's side and suddenly there was a flash and she looked up in alarm to find her Dad pointing a camera at the three of them.

'What? I wanted to get a picture of my three girls' he remarked, as his partner shot him death glare. Whilst she was absolutely ecstatic to have give birth to another health beautiful baby girl, Natasha was not in the mood to have her picture taken when she knew that she looked absolutely hideous, all sweaty and horrible.

'You'd better let the rest of the team in' Natasha stated, as Clint took another picture 'I can practically hear Stark hammering on the door'

Her partner walked over to the door, opened it and beckoned the Avengers in. 'Come and meet my daughter!'Clint announced barely containing his excitement

'Aww she's adorable!' Pepper exclaimed, walking over and peering down at the pink sleeping baby in Natasha's arms 'what's her name?'

'Sofia Robyn Barton' Clint stated happily as he received his team's congratulations.

Lena froze suddenly in her position at her mother's side as dark negative thoughts crept into her mind. 'I just need to get some air' she told her mother, shuffling out of bed. Natasha, in her tired state accepting her daughter's excuse, knowing that Lena still didn't like small spaces filled with lots of people, like this hospital room. Lena slipped out unnoticed, passing Tony teasing Clint that he had named his new daughter after the legendary archer, Robin Hood, whilst the newborn's father admantly stated that Robin was Coulson's middle name, which why Sofia had been given that middle name.

However Clint realised something was wrong when he saw Lena sneak out of the room and leaving Natasha to show off his new daughter, he headed outside to find Lena sitting on one of the hard hospital chairs, tears streaming down her face.

'Hey _Lenochka_, what's the matter?' Clint asked, sliding into the seat next to the small girl and wrapping his arms around her as she sobbed into his shoulder. The small Russian had been so excited about becoming an older sister and had told anyone she met about it, so he was really surprised to see Lena like this.

'Do you love Sofia more than me?' Lena whispered

'No of course not, I love both of you equally' Clint replied earnestly, pressing a kiss to the troubled seven year old's head.

'But she's your real daughter'

'So? I'm your Daddy aren't I, which means I love you just as much as Sofia'

'Promise?'

'Promise' Clint answer. 'What brought this on Lena?' he asked

'She's called Barton but at school I'm known as Romanoff' Lena explained, trying to convay what she was feeling

'Lena, it doesn't matter what your surname is, I love you just as much' Clint stated 'you're her older sister'

'I'm going to be the best older sister ever' Lena stated more happily, now feeling more secure in Clint's love.

'Is that so? Why don't you go and tell Sofia that' Clint suggested and holding hands they walked back into the hospital room.

As Lena cradled her red haired little sister in her lap, just how her mother had showed her to, she promised that she would be the best older sister little Sofia could wish for. She would help look after her, protect her and make sure she was always safe.

'I love you _Soneshka'_ she whispered quietly in Russian into her baby sister's ear as Natasha looked on wtih a smile on her face and Clint raised his camera to capture the moment.

* * *

_NB: __Soneshka_ and Lenochka are the Russian put forms of Sofia and Elena


	5. Tony Stark the babysitter

_A/N: So when I wrote this I forgot that in the USA you refer to nappies as diapers...  
_

_The idea for this one-shot came from a review for one of the last chapers of Lena, I hope you enjoy it.  
_

* * *

'Pepper why did you agree to this?' Tony whined as he paced up and down the main living area at the top of Stark tower, where he and the other Avengers lived, carrying a crying eight week old Sofia who refused to go to sleep

'Natasha and Clint haven't had a night to themselves since Sofia was born' Pepper replied from her position on the comfy sofa, where she sat, her feet up reading a magazine after a hard day's work, watching her boyfriend struggle with the crying baby 'so I said we would watch the girls whilst they went out'

'But you're not helping' he moaned gesturing to her relaxed form as he continued to try and settle the bawling baby

'I've just been running your company for you Mr Stark' Pepper replied 'I deserve to put my feet up'

'Pepper please help' Tony begged 'I can't seem to get her to shut up, what's wrong with her? Romanoff fed her before they left, so she can't be hungry'

'Does she need her nappy changed?' Pepper suggested without looking up from the article she was reading

Tony lifted the baby up and with a grimace on his face gave Sofia's nappy clad bottom a tentative sniff. 'No it's not that' he reported with relief.

'Have you burped her?' Pepper asked

'No, why would I need to do that?' the genius billionaire asked, in complete bewilderment

'Urgh, you're utterly hopeless, give her here' Pepper said throwing her magazine down on the couch and standing up, before lifting the distressed baby out of her clueless boyfriend's arms. 'There, there, Sofia' she cooed, patting the baby gently on the back.

To Tony Stark's utter fascination, the small baby gave this rather loud burp, before settling quietly in his girlfriend's arms.

* * *

'Do you think they're going to be ok?' Natasha asked anxiously, for what seemed to be the millionth time that evening.

'Tash, they'll be fine'

'But Tony Stark's babysitting' she replied despairingly, having no confidence in her teammate 'we're going to get back to find that they've been blown up because he's turned them into a science experiment'

'Pepper will keep an eye on everything' Clint replied confidently

'I would have just felt a little bit better if we weren't leaving them alone with Stark. Why did Banner and Rogers have to be out of the tower this evening?'

'Well at least it's not Thor babysitting' Clint remarked whilst pouring himself and his partner more red wine, referencing to what had happened at Christmas.

'Oh God! Remind me never to let me leave him and Sofia, or even Elena for that matter, alone with him again!' Natasha exclaimed laughing. At the time, Thor throwing baby Sofia around in the air had been absolutely terrifying, as was Thor's girlfriend, Jane's reaction. The tiny brunette had chastised the blonde haired god fiercely, telling him that he should be more carefully and that human babies were more fragile than the younglings on Asgard. Natasha, after that had refused to let anyone else hold her baby, even though Sofia seemed to be completely unaffected by the experience and was smiling.

'This is nice' Clint commented reaching out across the candlelit table to hold Natasha's hands 'I can't remember the last time we went out, just us two'

'It must be just over a year' Natasha replied 'Do you realise it's nearly been a year since we rescued Lena?'

'What a year!'

* * *

'Pepper she's crying again!' Tony exclaimed loudly, hearing Sofia's loud cries through the baby monitor they had wired into JARVIS.

'Well does she need feeding?' Pepper asked

'Don't think so' her boyfriend replied 'she refuses to drink any milk from the bottle Natasha prepared. 'Can you have a look?' he asked bringing the crying baby out of the nursery to show his girlfriend who was now on her laptop.

'Tony she needs her nappy changed' Pepper stated, taking one whiff of the baby

'Well can you sort her out?' Tony asked

'I would honey, but I'm busy running your company' she answered 'the company's representative in Japan is getting a bit angsty about the share prices'

'But I'm busy doing...' and he trailed off, causing Pepper to raise an amused eyebrow. Tony inwardly cursed. Any other night he would be in the lab working on something with Bruce, but the gamma radiation specialist had to have chosen this night, of all nights, to fly out to Geneva to attend a conference, leaving him without any excuse to escape from the ordeal of changing the nappy. 'Please Pepper' Tony begged, giving his girlfriend his best puppy dog face.

'Mr Tony it's not that hard' came a small voice.

'Lena, what are you doing out of bed?' Pepper asked the small girl who had appeared at the top of the stairs which led to her bedroom at the top of the tower.

'Sofia's cries woke me up' the red head replied 'I'll help you change her nappy Mr Tony' she announced. Whilst Pepper, was Aunty Pepper, Tony was still Mr Tony, a step up from Mr Stark. Out of all the avengers, Tony was the one it had taken longer for Lena to warm up to. She had been slightly intimidated by his loud exuberant persona and did not like being around him by herself.

'So have you done this before?' Tony asked the small red haired girl who was standing next to him, clad in her blue checked pyjamas.

'No' Lena admitted 'but I've watched _Mumiya _and Dad do it and it looked easy' she stated as they stared at the baby lying on the changing table in the nursery.

'Well it can't be too hard, can it?' Tony remarked 'all you have to do is whip the dirty one off and put a clean one on. Tony to a deep breath and as Lena tried to calm her distressed sister down. He quickly found the poppers and undid Sofia's baby grow. He then pulled down the front of the nappy, before grimacing as an unbelievable stench hit him. 'I can't believe I'm doing this' he muttered under his breath as Lena continued to keep Sofia distracted.

Looking up from entertaining Sofia, Lena handed Tony a clean nappy and some baby wipes and with a sigh, after cleaning Sofia up, Tony began the task of swapping the nappies over with one hand, whilst the held Sofia's chubby legs up in the air as he completed the task. Finally with a triumphant smile on his face, he set about sticking the nappy together – that was when he encountered a problem.

'Um...Mr Tony, I think you put the nappy on the wrong way round' Lena said hesitantly.

At that point Tony was about to call out and drag Pepper away from whatever work she was doing so she could help him, after all, babysitting had been her idea. However he was Tony Stark, he was Iron Man, he had an IQ which rivalled that of history's greatest geniuses and he was not going to be beaten by something as simple as a baby's nappy. So with gritted teeth, he lifted Sofia's legs back up, turned the nappy the right way round before sticking it all together.

'That took you a while' Pepper commented when he walked out of the nursery a couple of minutes later, having successfully placed Sofia back into her crib where she was now sleeping soundly and Lena having headed back up to bed, now certain she was going to have a peaceful night's sleep. Tony did not respond but flopped down next to her on the couch – Natasha and Clint owed him one.

* * *

'I think the girls must have tired him out' Clint commented with a grin, as he and Natasha caught sight of their snoring team member, as they sneaked back into the tower a couple of hours later.


	6. Steve and the Wizard of Oz

**I am so sorry for the lack of updates for both this story and Natashen'ka. The past two weeks have been extremely stressful for me, but finally it seems like things are starting to get better. I hope you enjoy this little chapter, even though its quite short. :)**

* * *

'Daddy, I don't feel well'

And with those words, Clint Barton started to panic

Oh

Shit

Where was Natasha when he needed her?

His red haired partner was currently on a training mission with her protégé, Irina. The Russian girl had arrived back in the USA just under two months ago and after several meetings at S.H.I.E.L.D, it was decided that Natasha would take the eighteen year old under her wing and complete her training.

'Come here Sweetie' he said gesturing for Lena to come closer. The pyjama clad seven year old stumbled towards him, almost tripping over the hem of her extra fluffy pink dressing gown. 'Oh you're burning up' he murmured, placing his hand onto the small girl's forehead. He picked Lena up, and after making sure that his younger daughter, Sofia, was still sound asleep, he carried Lena down the stairs down the stairs to the kitchen area, where he knew a certain Dr Banner would be.

* * *

Dr Bruce Banner looked up from his (extremely) early morning cereal, to see a frantic looking Agent Barton running into the room, carrying Lena.

'It's Lena, she said she wasn't feeling well and it feels like she's burning up' Clint explained to the doctor.

'Clint, try and be clam' was the first thing the doctor told the stressed parent before turning to examine Lena.

'I think she's picked up the cold that's going around schools at the moment' Bruce remarked after he had finished looking at Lena. It's nothing life threatening and should hopefully pass in 24 hours'

'She's going to be fine?'

'Of course, she just needs to rest and drink lots of fluids'

'No medication?'

'Well I can give her something to keep her temperature down, but there is no point giving her any antibiotics, since this looks like it's just a virus'

'Well then Elena, I think this means a day off school' Clint announced as he scooped Lena back up into his arms and carried her back upstairs.

* * *

'Daddy I'm bored' Lena moaned as she sat in bed trying to read her book. She had just got it and really wanted to read it but she could not focus on the words on the page in front of her, they seemed to be going all blurry and dancing in front of her eyes. All of this was not helping her feel any better. She knew she was ill, but lying in bed and staring at the boring white ceiling was really boring'

'Are you alright Miss Elena' came the voice of a man, who definitely was not her father, popping his head around the door.

'Hey Cap' she replied, giving the blond haired superhero a half hearted smile.

'What's wrong?' he asked kindly, entering the room. 'You're dad's just trying to stop Sofia from throwing her food at Tony'

'I'm just bored, I hate being ill' Lena exclaimed

'So do I' he replied comfortingly

Lena looked at the man from the 1940s. He looked so tall and muscular, the epitome of health and she could not imagine him ever being ill.

'I was ill a lot when I was younger' he said, as if reading the young girl's thoughts 'and it wasn't always a simple cold like you've got. I was in bed for weeks with Pneumonia and whooping cough, whilst everyone else played outside or went to school. Look I know what will make you feel better' he announced suddenly and he disappeared out of the bedroom, only to return a couple of minutes later with a glass of milk and some biscuits.

'Thanks' Lena muttered, wondering how this was meant to make her feel better

'JARVIS' Steve called out to the resident A.I. After spending nearly two years in Stark tower he had finally become accustomed to modern technology, but he hoped that the A.I would have the certain old film he wanted in his vast video collection

'Yes Captain Rogers?'

'Are you able to stream the Wizard of Oz into this room?' he asked

'Yes of course, the movie is loading now sir' JARVIS replied

'We're watching a film? Lena asked

'The best way to take your mind off being ill is not to think about it' he explained. 'By the looks of it, you haven't had much luck reading a book, but this might help. I remember when this film came out' he said almost wistfully, remembering how he had tagged along as the third wheel on one of his friend, Bucky's, dates, to see it in the cinema.

'It's an old film?' Lena stated dubiously

'Yes, but it's still really good, I think nowadays people call it a classic'

'Can you watch it with me?' Lena asked suddenly as the title music started. 'It's no fun watching a movie by yourself'

'Well if you're sure Miss Lena'

'Look, I'll budge up a bit, there is plenty of space and you can tell me what the story's about'

* * *

Clint popped his head around his daughter's bedroom door. He hadn't heard from her in a while, which was quite worrying since she had spent the first half of the day being extremely vocal about her displeasure of being unwell. What he saw was one of the last things he expected. His daughter was sat happily in bed, watching what looked like the Wizard of Oz, whilst sharing cookies with Captain America. The captain himself looked completely at ease and was just as engrossed in the film as the seven year old snuggled up next to him. That in itself was unexpected, since the Captain had been the most wary of his and Natasha's children, not really knowing how to act around them.

Knowing that Lena was in good hands, Clint silently closed the door, leaving the two to enjoy the movie.


End file.
